Welcome to Guidelines for Nurses. This site uses cookies, some may have been set already. If you continue to use the site, we will assume you are happy to accept the cookies anyway. Read about our cookies here..

BAD updates guideline on biologic therapy for psoriasis

The British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) has updated its guideline on biologic therapy for psoriasis. The guideline, which is accredited by NICE, provides evidence-based recommendations on the use of biologic therapies (including adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab, ixekizumab, secukinumab, and ustekinumab) in adults, children, and young people for the treatment of psoriasis. The specific needs of people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are also taken into consideration.

Biologic therapies have been in use for over 10 years, and as such, many of the recommendations made in previous versions of the guideline have now become routine care are no longer necessary, so the focus of the update is on areas where there has been a major change in the evidence base of clinical practice, where practice is varied, and where clear recommendations are lacking. The guideline includes recommendations on:

patient criteria for biologic therapy

initation and supervision of biologic therapy

selecting an approrpirate biologic therapy for different patient groups

prescribing biologic therapies and who should prescribe them

when to review treatment and when to consider escalating dosage.

The guideline also includes a toolkit to support the implementation of the recommendations made.